Kinder, gentler car show set for Worcester's Green Hill Park

Friday

Jun 28, 2013 at 6:00 AMJun 28, 2013 at 9:20 AM

By Bronislaus B. Kush, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — For the 23rd year in a row, the city — come rain or shine — will play host to hundreds of car enthusiasts who'll motor up to Green Hill Park during the long July Fourth weekend to passionately talk about tail fins, chrome grilles, axles, jump seats and other vehicle parts that rev up the hearts of true lovers of the horseless carriage.

But unlike past incarnations, the 2013 version of the annual car show will have a name change, and organizers promise it will be tamer and more family-friendly.

There will be no Playboy models or bikini-clad pageant wannabes strutting about the park, and the loud and smelly burnouts and flameouts that highlighted past shows have gone the way of the Model T.

This is the first year that Oxford promoter Robert Moscoffian is not part of the show.

Saying he could no longer afford to stage the event in Worcester, he moved his New England Summer Nationals about 30 minutes down Interstate 395 to the Thompson International Speedway in Connecticut.

Worcester officials — tired of complaints about the show, particularly the nightly events held in and around the Johnson Tunnel near Lincoln Square — did little if anything to keep the Summer Nationals in the city.

However, Mr. Cooper and others decided the show was a valuable asset and organized a scaled-down version this year that will take place solely around the main parking lot at Green Hill Park.

Both shows will be competing for the same customer base.

Local organizers admit they are taking a risk, given that their venture will cost at least $50,000, and given that Mr. Moscoffian is heavily advertising his event.

"But we're pretty confident that people are going to like our idea of what a car show should look like," said Mr. Cooper,.

A car collector, he is the proprietor of Brooks Motors on Route 12 in Auburn.

Mr. Cooper said Mr. Moscoffian did a good job running the Summer Nationals during the event's earlier years.

"But over the past few years, things really started getting out of hand," Mr. Cooper said. "You really didn't want to bring your kids."

Mr. Cooper said Mr. Moscoffian, in advertisements, is leading the public to believe that his show is the only one being held during the holiday weekend.

"We're trying to get the word out that there will still be a show at the park," Mr. Cooper said.

Among the cars showcased at the Worcester show will be classics, hot-rods, antiques and "rat rods," vehicles assembled from parts coming from a variety of cars.

The "push me and pull me car" will also be on display. The vehicle, put together by an Oregon man using the fronts of two 1981 Ford Escorts, can be driven from either end.

One of the DeLorean cars from the "Back to the Future" movies will also be on hand.

To date, 300 people have registered to showcase their vehicles.

The show will also feature food and vehicle product vendors, and four bands will provide music.

Everyone who buys a ticket will also be entered in a contest to win a 1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

Kyle Lyman, a 17-year-old automotive student at Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in Charlton who works for Mr. Cooper at Brooks Motors, said the show is the perfect venue for car lovers.

"I really love cars, so I know that this is going to be a good experience for people who have a passion for cars," he said.